Brussels, 21/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The fisheries ministers of a number of member states (Spain, France, Poland, Italy and Belgium) called on Monday 19 March for various types of fleet restructuring aid to be retained, while the European Commission, backed by other member states (the liberal countries and Germany), is proposing to end most forms of support for the 2014-2020 period. During the debate on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), 16 countries - Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - presented a joint statement calling for enhanced support for aquaculture enterprises.
During the debate, Italy said that the proposal on the EMFF (for 2014-2020) formed an “excellent basis for discussion”. It is essential, it argued, that there always be the possibility of helping fishermen take part in temporary cessation of fishing activities programmes, particularly when a fishery is closed to allow the resource to recover. Italy also called for the retention of some aid for decommissioning vessels. It backed the proposed measures on research and scientific data gathering. Italy would like the EMFF to be allocated at least the same amount of money for 2014-2020 as that received in the current period, 2007-2013.
Poland supported aid for modernising vessels and took the view that the criteria for allocating EMFF aid are not firm enough. It argued that selectivity of fishing gear has to be encouraged and processing bolstered. In aquaculture, funding is needed, too, to address the issues of diseases and predators. Belgium took the view that the new fund must be able to meet investment in training, selectivity of fishing gear, on-board safety and energy efficiency (including changing engines). It backed the retention of public aid for the construction of new vessels. The average age of the Belgian fleet is 24, which can mean difficult living conditions on board.
Spain said that “maintenance of the fleet must be ensured” by keeping a number of kinds of aid, such as those for temporary cessation of activities and scrapping of vessels, “at least over a long transition period”. The Spanish fleet has been reduced by 48% (in terms of engine capacity) since 2000 thanks to the assistance of Community funding, Spanish Minister Miguel Arias Canete stated.
France called for aid to be kept for adjusting fleet capacity, temporary cessation of fishing and vessel modernisation (including changing engines). It called for the money allocated to the EMFF to be kept at the current level. Ireland argued for funding in several areas: the fleet, on-board safety and selectivity of gear.
Portugal said that new technologies have to be developed, training encouraged, data collection improved, controls toughened and retraining encouraged.
The United Kingdom argued that the EMFF must be used to support innovative projects that will improve sustainability. Money from the fund must be spent transparently and it must do more to protect the environment. The EMFF must also help achieve the objective of reducing EU budget spending, the UK said. Estonia expressed the view that the fishing sector must be more independent of subsidies and the EMFF must take account of climate change and innovation. Germany welcomed the proposed ending of the vessel scrapping premium.
Finland said that innovation should be the priority. The proposal could also be improved to promote scientific programmes. For the aquaculture sector, Finland called for measures to combat animals, such as cormorants and seals, which cause damage.
The Netherlands welcomed the proposals quite warmly: traditional support (aid to the fleet) has been replaced by aid more geared towards diversification, innovation and partnerships between fishermen and scientists. The EMFF should be used to encourage competitive, innovative and sustainable fishing and aquaculture. There must be efforts made to make fishing more selective (that is, with fewer, or no, discards) and job-creating, the Netherlands said. Sweden welcomed the proposal aimed at ending aid for scrapping vessels and stressed the need for measures to: - bring about an end to discarding fish at sea; - improve the selectivity of fishing gear; - manage fishing activities more sustainably. It argued for the introduction of transferable fishing quotas as a way of reducing fleet overcapacity. These quotas came in for criticism from France and Ireland.
Concluding the debate, European Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said: “We are not going to end funding for aquaculture but we have to focus on innovation in this sector”. She said consideration would be given to including the processing industry among the sectors eligible for funding. “We are proposing to bring an end to aid for decommissioning of vessels. We have nothing specifically for modernisation. Aid is planned for selectivity, training, safety, but we don't have unlimited funds that allow us to do everything”. The commissioner also spoke of the issue of overcapacity. Between now and the end of the year, member states will have to send information to the Commission on vessel horse power. “That way, we will be able to speak in a more constructive manner. If funding can be reserved for modernising without increasing engine power, we'll be able to talk. But will we be able to monitor the situation?” Damanaki wondered. (LC/transl.rt)